Rewriting the Code
by Mae Bleu
Summary: William wasn't sure why he was in the past, watching a group of outcasts come together and form a group of world saving Warriors, but he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be here. He was the bad guy, right? AU-ish.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: **Aaaggghh...I had to. Just...had to. I've been holding on to this one for...I don't even know how long. CL does not get the love it deserves, and I find myself continuously disappointed by the lack of in-depth (SOMEWHAT REALISTIC) adventure stories for this series, so..._

_Quick Notes: I am pulling events from the episodes themselves, but I have no intention of rehashing them word-for-fricken-word. I will probably only briefly describe or leave out entirely certain episodes (I'm not about to restate the entire series, especially if the episode is useless for whatever overall plot I come up with for this). I am also more or less ignoring the fifth season-don't get me wrong, I liked Evolution, but it doesn't work into my timeline here. I will, however, be pulling William's avatar from Evolution (since I really do prefer him in black) and the look of the Towers ('cuz I just like the way they look in Evolution), but beyond a few aesthetics, no plot or characters from Evolution are planned to make appearances._

_I should also remind all readers that I am taking certain liberties with the characters to make them more realistic-Yes, we all know that CL was a kids show and it's old and cheesy beyond belief, but that doesn't mean I can't take the base of that world and make it a bit more mature to suit my now more-developed tastes(because you really don't realize how cheesy your favorite childhood shows were until you go back and watch them as an adult)._

_One more thing...  
Quick Rant: WHY DOES WILLIAM NOT GET MORE LOVE? I mean, come on! If you look past the bravado and flirting he's actually a pretty interesting, realistic portrayal of a young man, something I also believe they made more obvious in Evolution when we actually get to see him post-possession. He has so much potential for character development and emotional trauma that he is probably my most favoritest character to use in CL EVER. Not to mention he's a badass fighter! But do I see fics about him? Almost. Never. In fact most CL fics are about frickn' high school romance and OC inserts. Do I care about romance? Not really. Do I mind it? If it's done well and is SECONDARY to a more interesting plot, sure. I write and enjoy writing about strong friendships-but cheesy teen romance? Gross. I don't read it, so I don't write it._

_So William doesn't get enough attention in this fandom, or if he does it's typically not the flattering kind, so I am dedicating a story to him. If you have a problem with that, there are other stories out there. Don't waste your own time._

**Rewriting the Code**

**1 : Xana Awakens Part One**

William woke up….slowly. Confused and reluctant. There was a gentle light that he could see through cracked eyelids, and a soft warmth coming from the floor his cheek rested on. It took him a bit to regain any kind of coherency. He felt…strange. Out of touch with his own body. Like he hadn't used it in a long time and couldn't quite remember the mechanics. He felt fuzzy and sleepy despite not actually being tired.

Gradually, he focused. Idly observed the rapidly changing numbers dancing in little boxes on the blue walls. Twitched each individual body part until he was sure he knew where they were and that they functioned as they should. Then he sat up, leaning back on his hands and looking around, thinking. The glowing white platform, the bottomless darkness beneath, the ambient light, and the deep blue, screen-like walls were all very familiar. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't think he was supposed to be here.

There was no visible exit from the small, round room, but somehow William knew exactly what to do. He stood, his walk smooth despite being so unsure of his own extremities moments before, and stepped up to the wall in the one place the platform extended close enough to touch. After a second of looking at it, the wall began to ripple like water, faintly red light accenting each wave. Then he just stepped forward, melting right through it and out the other side.

Finding himself standing on the cool blue floor in a truly enormous room, William was again overcome with familiarity. The makeup of the room and, as he glanced behind himself, the tower he had been in were downright illogical and unrealistic. They looked cool though.

The tower was sleek and black and square shaped at the base, despite it's rather round interior, with some lines of decorative lighting around the lower half glowing deep purple. It was perched upon a mountain of huge blue blocks that didn't appear to have been placed together with any pattern in mind, with a more neat pathway of far larger blue blocks extending from misty nothingness below to allow access to the tower's base. In front of him the path extended to a matching blocky blue wall with an opening just the width of the path itself, leading who knew where. A geometry teacher's paradise and/or worse nightmare.

_This place…is…_ He knew this place. Somewhere so unique couldn't possibly be forgotten so easily. _…Carthage._

And it all came rushing back.

It didn't hurt nor was it terribly surprising, and it took virtually no time at all. Rather like flipping on a light switch—no light, now light. Before he knew nothing, now he knew something. William just rocked on his heels a little, blinked a few times, and then frowned deeply.

_This is…definitely not right._

Something had changed. Carthage felt _different_. It was _quiet_.

Where was Xana? He was more than happy, ecstatic even, that he had his brain to himself again, but if Xana wasn't in his head then where was it? He couldn't imagine it just…letting him go of it's own volition. It had seemed a little too settled and far too stubborn for that—William would even admit he felt a little odd, standing here without that ominous presence, that immense pressure and knowledge just hanging around beside his consciousness like some demented shadow.

He'd gotten…kind of used to it, actually. He had been essentially forced to accept the invading entity or be driven insane by the weight of it's presence smothering him to keep control, and even then it had been far from comfortable.

Xana hadn't seen much need to hide things from it's avatar, nor had it cared much at all for his general presence in the same body—so he had gotten to witness much of the AI's thoughts as they occurred, simply because it hadn't bothered to hide them from him. It had turned into something like daytime television for him—he hadn't needed rest, and he couldn't exactly turn it off or get away from it, so he just observed and tried to alleviate boredom. And it had been quite boring at times.

Even so, sharing a mind with an AI—capable of learning and processing information at the speed of sound—was an interesting experience to say the least. And mildly traumatizing. But that was for another day. William was quite sure that having all that information in his face and almost feeling thoughts racing by as if they were his own had some effect on his own thought process. Influenced him. Being constantly awake and trapped within his own head had left him a lot of time to reflect, on his life, his past actions, etc., and William now felt like a rather different person than he was when he first stepped into that scanner, months ago. More mature, for one. His patience was better, but that constituted as a character flaw that could only be helped so much, so mostly he'd just chosen to acknowledge it.

He was still curious, and still direct in his approach to most things. He didn't know why he was here, for how long, or how he was alone in the first place. And this, whatever his situation was, bore looking into, and possibly skull smashing. If he ran into anything with Xana's Eye on it, there would be smashing. No questions asked.

Well…at least he still had super smoke, for whatever reason. That was nice. It made getting around the maze of Carthage much easier. As he explored, he noted that he was still instinctively aware of where the tower he'd started from was. And now that he thought about it, he'd never seen a purple tower before.

_Must be mine then. _He thought, dropping out of smoke form on a random block. He'd floated around looking for any kind of activity, but hadn't bumped into any monsters. The maze didn't even seem moody enough to change shape today. So he'd gone somewhere he knew shouldn't have changed—the Core chamber. As he thought, it was still there, glowing and spinning idly in the middle of the spiraling room at the center of Carthage. He stood about level with it, arms crossed and well on his way to being annoyed.

_Where is everybody?_

Not in Carthage, that much was clear. He wanted to check the other Sectors, but wasn't entirely sure how he'd get there. Before, he'd just hung out in the digital sea between missions and then emerged from there wherever in Lyoko he was needed. Now that Xana wasn't part of him and protecting his virtual body from exploding on contact with the sea, he wasn't about to take the risk of trying something similar.

Towers were sometimes used as methods of transportation, but usually just around a single Sector. _…Well, it's worth a try._

So he made his way back. His original, purple tower was right where he'd left it. Entering it, he stood in the center of the platform and tried to recall how Xana accessed their coding and such, aside from just activating and deactivating them. Like the tower knew what he was after, an interface appeared in front of him, cloudy white and floating.

_Perfect. _He spent a few minutes fiddling with it, letting what remained of Xana's imprinted tech savvy do most of the interpreting for him, before somehow either creating or discovering a method of transporting himself from this tower to any other inactive one.

_Huh._ That wasn't so hard. When did he learn binary? _And to think, the most time I spent with computers was to play video games._

Fun times. Now…the Forest Sector. That was always a pleasant walk. A map of the Sector appeared, ten spread out, glowing dots signifying towers, though only nine of them seemed to be available for his use. Curious about the remaining one, he selected the tower closest to it and started the process. The interface vanished, there was light and pixels, and he was gone.

When William reformed, he was standing in an identical room in a nearly identical tower in the Forest Sector. Exiting, he paused just outside. Listened. Absorbed it all. Yeah, things felt…different. More raw, somehow. The more time he spent here the more William realized how much more in tune with Lyoko he was. Not quite like the sensitivity he had as Xana's avatar, and definitely not like when he'd first entered Lyoko as just a novice Warrior.

Shaking his head to dispel the strange thoughts that he really didn't have the capacity to fathom at that moment, he dispersed into smoke and began his wanderings again. He could feel where that one tower he couldn't transport to was located, and took his time getting there.

This tower was blue. A Way Tower? He could somewhat get why he couldn't just appear inside it then, but there was something weirdly familiar about it. Weird like this tower and the surrounding virtual landscape was a scene he'd witnessed a long time ago, right down to exact details—which made no sense, because he was sure that even when possessed, he hadn't gone near the Forest Way Tower. Somehow the 'memory' seemed even older than his possession, but again, that made no sense. And hadn't Lyoko's landscapes changed somewhat after it was destroyed and remade by Jeremy? Hell, there were times when he was sure the scenery changed just because it felt like it. Lyoko was practically an entity of it's own, after all…

The towers surface rippled, white waves expanding outward. Someone was coming out of it. Startled, and more than slightly wary, seeing how weird his day had been, William vanished into smoke and hid behind the nearest tree. Peeking around the side, he felt his jaw threaten to drop and hang open in utter shock.

It was _Aelita_…but not at all like William last remembered her being. Her virtual form had regressed—it was the white and pink and ribboned elf form he'd only seen twice before it had been replaced with the futuristic angel that Jeremy had designed. And she didn't stand like the battle honed, confident young genius he had witnessed her to be when times were rough. She was visibly timid, expression lost and confused, looking around with a mix of wonderment and complete lack of recognition—which was completely out of whack, because Aelita was the one who knew her way around Lyoko the best, after spending so much of her life stuck in it—

Wait a second. This wasn't familiar to him because he had experienced it before. It was familiar because _Xana_ had experienced it before, long preceding William even arriving at Kadic.

_But that makes no sense!_ He thought, frustrated and more than slightly panicked. _How could I possibly be here, like this, on Lyoko…_

"H…Hello? Is…someone there?"

Aelita walked slowly around the side of the tree, a cautious distance away, and saw William leaning against it. She gasped, green eyes growing bigger, but clearly didn't recognize him.

…_in the past._

**_AN:_****  
**

_Right. There. First chapter : Done. Set the ball rolling._

_Lemme know what you think, yeah? I can't be the only Not-a-Child who's clung to some love for this series and was looking for something a little different than the norm._

_MB_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN:** Can't stop. I've started it. Can't stop now. For the sake of my own sanity. MUST. KEEP. GOING. Or I'll regret it._

_It's for dear William. He totally deserves it, even if the masses don't._

_I Do Not Own The Obvious._

**Rewriting the Code**

**2 : Xana Awakens Part Two**

Aelita looked like she wasn't entirely sure whether or not to be frightened of him. He supposed he did look a bit ominous; she was, physically, even younger now, which made their height difference that much more significant. His virtual form had changed slightly he'd noticed, no longer sporting the Xana motif and slightly more stream-lined than he remembered, but it was still mostly black and the gauntlet on his left arm still had spikes coming out of it, which he admitted gave him a mildly more dangerous look.

Aelita…jeez she didn't just look younger she _acted_ younger. More innocent, more unsure of herself. Just looking at her seemed to kindle protective brotherly instincts in William, which was an odd feeling since he was accustomed to being an only child.

She stepped closer to him, curious and perhaps a bit hopeful. If this really was just after the supercomputer was first activated, then this would be the first time, to her memory, she'd actually been face to face with another person. "H…Hello?" She said again, almost a question. He stared at her a moment, wondering just how he was supposed to behave around someone he knew, but didn't.

He supposed he could start by being nice.

"…Hi." His response was soft, and she seemed to relax slightly.

"Who are you?" She asked, taking another step closer. She didn't know him, and really no one did, so he felt no need to lie.

"William." He stood fully, so he wasn't leaning against the tree anymore. "And you are?"

Her gaze fell. "I…I don't know."

His eyebrow lifted. "Really? You don't remember?"

"N…no. I don't even know…where I am."

He considered this. He wasn't sure how much interfering he could get away with and still have things happen the way he was sure they were meant to, but this was information she would be learning pretty soon anyway, so… It couldn't hurt.

"Well, I do." He lessened the distance between them, making her look up again when he stopped. He smiled at her faintly, hoping it was friendly. "You're in Lyoko, right now, in the Forest Sector." He waved a demonstrative hand at their surroundings. "And your name, princess, is Aelita."

Her lips parted, surprised, but no sound came out. Her eyes widened in something like puzzlement, but then flickered with some faint recognition. "How do you know?" She asked, in a small voice. He smiled some more, feeling the need to reassure her.

"You told me."

She blinked. "I…did?"

Well…not yet she hadn't. William just kept smiling. Aelita opened her mouth again to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden clanking and skittering noise. They both turned, William already with an idea of what to expect, and were met with a weird looking, robotic creature with a vague resemblance to a cockroach. Aelita stared incredulously for a second, not recognizing and perhaps not quite believing what she was looking at, as the red circle at the base of the creature's body began gathering light. Before the laser fired William pulled her out of the way and it missed. More monsters crawled up from behind the rock the one had perched on, Xana's Eye prominent on their foreheads.

William sighed. "Kankrelats. Of course…how could I have forgotten." He turned to Aelita. "Get back to your tower, you'll be safe in there."

"But what about you?" She didn't want to leave him just yet. He could see more questions burning in her soft green eyes, as well as concern.

"I'll be fine. They can't catch me." He gave her a reassuring smile, nudging her towards the blue tower. "Now go on, hurry up."

She still looked reluctant, but obliged. It wasn't far to run, and the most William needed to do to protect her was kick aside a Kankrelat that tried to charge it's laser. Once she was safely in the tower, he put his hands on his hips and met the 'gazes' of the monsters, smiling. They had yet to try and shoot him. Maybe because this younger Xana didn't know who he was or what reason he was there…or maybe because it could tell that they somehow shared something special in common.

"'Sup, Xana. Long time no see." He didn't expect the AI to know what he was talking about. Didn't particularly want it to. It was endlessly intelligent and could probably come up with hundreds of possible scenarios—but in this case, the likelihood it would discover the true one was very, very low. But that was fine—it could fill in the blanks however it wanted, and ultimately benefit no one. "Well…as fascinating as this conversation is, I have…things…to do. So…bye." He waved at the Kankrelats, smoke flying from his palm and shoving them right over the edge of the floating landmass, into the pale yellow 'water' far below. Once they were all taken care of, he smoked away, not thinking it wise to linger. He'd come back later to check on Aelita, and give things time to happen before making another move.

It was difficult to really tell how much time was passing in a virtual world where there was no day and night cycle, but William discovered, through much fiddling with his tower interface, that he could access a digital clock to tell him what time it actually was. Without anything to really do, and yet focused as he was on what he could glean from the supercomputer systems from his tower, hours seemed to slip by almost without notice.

William had finally figured out just why he was suddenly a computer wiz: the Annex Program. From what he remembered, only Aelita and the creator of the supercomputer—her father? In Xana's thoughts it was always 'the creator' or occasionally 'Franz Hopper'—had the original, but when he was possessed Xana had provided him with a copy so he could access towers. The definition of the Program was that it gave the user cybernetic artificial intelligence that allowed them to understand files and codes and binary and such. It was the 'protocol' connection Aelita, and now William, had to Lyoko itself.

He could understand why Jeremy had assumed Aelita was an AI in the beginning. Not only was it rather difficult to believe that a living person could survive so long inside a computer, but she had a fundamental tie to a virtual world and nothing in her head currently but the kind of knowledge you'd expect from an AI—and even that she might not be aware of at the moment.

William was…conflicted. He'd read the occasional story about people going back in time and using their foreknowledge to change the outcome of some event or another, but he wasn't really…comfortable with that. The Warriors had gotten along just fine before he came along and made things even harder than they were previously; and even then they usually came out on top. With him _here_ he wasn't sure just how his eventual involvement would change—was his body somewhere in the supercomputer like Aelita's was? He didn't know how that could be, when at this point he would have still been living with his parents in another city.

Most of what William knew about coming events was from Xana's perspective. Just flashes, a general overview of failed murder attempts. There weren't a whole lot of details, since they were inconsequential to the outcome and Xana didn't care about them. He had some pretty specific memories about Franz Hopper, as the one Xana saw the most of before being shut down, so he knew the whole truth about how Aelita had gotten here…but did it matter? He had no proof of any of that, and when he inevitably ran into the other's they would just assume he was an AI. He wasn't sure whether or not to discount that assumption, or just let them figure it out on their own. He knew they would eventually, since they did with Aelita.

Speaking of the little pink haired princess…She didn't remember anything. Not being human, not how she got here, and not her father. Even if William tried to explain it to her, he didn't know how to actually return her memories. Hell he wasn't even entirely sure why they were _gone_. Shock? Ten years of inactivity? Who knew. He was suddenly an innate tech genius, but he didn't know everything.

Something beeped. He came out of his deep, circular thoughts and blinked at the flashing alerts on the screen before him. Someone was just virtualized into the Forest Sector, and they had rather quickly gotten Xana's attention. He just watched, for a bit. The little cursor representing the hapless, younger not-yet-Warrior fled from the monsters without any real direction, and soon enough a second alert popped up as another was virtualized. He wasn't really sure whether to take action or not.

"They probably don't have any idea what they're doing…" He muttered, watching them travel. He could vaguely recall Odd very animatedly recounting his first experience with Lyoko, which was apparently accidental when he stepped into the scanner trying to retrieve his dog Kiwi. Ulrich readily admitted to having stolen the animal to use as a guinea pig when they hadn't much clue what the scanners were meant for.

He wondered if Jeremy was directing them at all as rather than heading for where Aelita was—in the opposite direction—they just wandered into the nearest tower. When they were suddenly relocated to the Ice Sector he laughed. They really hadn't the foggiest idea what was going on. It was strangely humanizing to his former friends/enemies: knowing that they too started out confused and amateurs, just taking things as they came along and figuring out the important bits along the way. The majority of the big revelations had come before William became involved, so it was an enlightening experience for him.

With a bit of meddling, he determined the unlucky duo now surrounded by Bloks to be Odd and Ulrich. He was seriously tempted to go and say 'hi'…but then they were devirtualized in about nine seconds flat and he almost fell over laughing.

It was possible he was enjoying this a little too much.

_**AN:**_

_The explanation on the Annex Program was pretty much ripped straight from the wikia. I rewrote it a bit so it'd fit, but the definition is the same._

_William does actually demonstrate something of a __mischievous side, if you pay attention. A few times. I've perhaps made him more withdrawn and thoughtful in this, but it's reasonable if you think about the recent trauma's that I will enjoy writing about. Possession was glossed over in the series mostly, and I do not intend to let that stand here._

_MB_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: **...I really have nothing to say.  
_

_If I Don't Own It, I'm Sure You Can Tell_

**Rewriting the Code**

**3 : Xana Awakens Part Three**

William felt the pulse while in the Forest Sector. He was almost to Aelita's tower when it passed over him, sudden and tickling at his virtual awareness. He turned towards it automatically, knowing from past experience that the echo was a result of Xana fiddling with one of Lyoko's towers. Checking for active towers was actually a task that had slipped William's mind—he'd been quite wrapped up in sorting out the new arrangement of his virtual brain and coming to terms with the fact that _holy crap he was two years in the past stuck on Lyoko_ _with no clue how he'd gotten here_.

So there was that.

There wasn't much he could say about the tower situation. That had always been the worry of the Warriors and more specifically Aelita, and he didn't know where he preferred to stand on that issue right now. He was probably _capable_ of deactivating towers, but that might not be an ability to flaunt with Xana likely very curious about this strange, eerily familiar entity now residing in Lyoko. He drew enough attention as it was.

He turned away from where he'd felt the pulse, determined to worry about it later—and then almost crashed into Aelita. She came sprinting around a boulder, full speed, saw him and barely managed to defuse her momentum enough to stop—and even then, he had to catch her by the shoulders to stop her from face planting.

"Whoa, princess!" He exclaimed, steadying her. "What's the rush?"

"W-William?" Her eyes clearly showed her surprised at seeing him. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, I asked first."

"I…I felt a pulse."

"Ah. And you're going to investigate?" She nodded, and he made a show of looking around. "All on your lonesome, with those monsters creeping around? Are you sure about that?"

"Well I…Jeremy wasn't answering so…yes?" The pink elf shrugged, a bit sheepish. He didn't remember her being so impulsive before…in the future…whatever. He crossed his arms in a way he hoped came across admonishing. Her expression told him it was working. "So…were you going to answer my question?"

"Why am I here?" He raised a brow. "Looking for you. And I thought I was going to have to walk all the way to your tower." He waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway about the pulse…I felt it, too. It's coming from the Ice Sector I believe…If you want, I can go with you."

"Really?" She lit up immediately. "You will? I mean…yes! I want you to come."

He felt himself smiling. "Okay then. Let's go."

He took her hand and started running. The nice thing about being virtual was that there really wasn't such a thing as stamina—the fewer life points one had, the more difficult things would get, but they didn't really get _tired_, per se. So just running like this was actually pretty effective. Granted, if William were on his own, he'd just disintegrate and smoke his way to the Ice Sector, but seeing as he couldn't do the same to Aelita and bring her along, this would have to suffice.

"So…who are you, really?" The girl asked, as they entered the Mountain Sector. Of course the lack of need to breath would make speaking while running relatively easy.

"Just me." William responded, glancing at her over his shoulder. "And I'm no one important."

That answer didn't seem to satisfy her. "But are you like me?"

"I suppose so. In a way." He wasn't entirely sure himself, really.

"But…you know things. I don't…I don't know _anything_." She sounded almost frustrated. "Why don't I remember anything?"

"I can't really answer that question for you, princess."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't really know either."

"But you know me, right?"

"Maybe."

"But you said earlier…" She trailed off, sinking into her own, likely very confused thoughts. William said nothing. He didn't really know what he _could_ say. She sounded so lost, and he wanted to help, but yet again something held him back. She was like a young child, in a way. Not knowing, not comprehending, just seeing and wondering. He didn't want to pile the burden of the truth onto her unprepared shoulders so soon. Now, the knowledge would likely break her. In time though…it would do the opposite.

Waiting. He'd had never been very good at waiting…but now it was pretty important that he learn.

They were running across a narrow path of purplish floating land when the Kankrelats showed up. They didn't hesitate to shoot at him this time. William felt Aelita hesitate at the sight of them, but he tightened his grip on her hand and kept going, pulling her along as he dodged incoming laser fire. The diminutive monsters seemed almost startled when they didn't cease their charge, stuttering in their attack. William kicked one viciously out of the way as they passed, sending it careening over the edge, and simply continued on.

When the Hornets showed up, flying creatures with small stingers for shooting lasers and a long pointed thing protruding from their heads like some kind of demented bill, he decided a slightly different tactic was necessary. He had a vague idea of a tower nearby, and the quickest way to it would be to…

"You aren't afraid of falling are you, princess?" He asked, skidding to a stop. She gave him an odd look.

"I don't think so?"

"Great." He grinned at her, having fun despite the appearance of imminent danger. "Then jump!"

Aelita barely had time to widen her eyes before he essentially pulled her over the edge of the virtual landmass with the strength of his jump. She shrieked in surprise and terror as they plummeted into the mist below. William only barely resisted the dare devil urge to whoop in excitement as they fell. When they reemerged from the cloud at a significantly lower altitude he quickly pulled Aelita to him so she wouldn't tumble when they landed. His virtual form took the pressure well, and he hit the new floating landmass in a solid crouch, cracking the stone beneath him. As he stood straight a Kankrelat hurtled by, bounced once, and fell into the sea.

"Well, that was fun." He laughed, setting Aelita on her feet again. He pointed to the tower directly in front of them, at the end of a boulder-strewn path. "That should get us to the Ice Sector. Race you!"

"William!" Aelita chased after him, somewhere between incredulous and laughing herself. The Hornets came after them, but William subtly used smoke to shoot small rocks at them to slow them down and prevent their lasers from making any contact. They were soon in the safety of the tower and away from Xana's interference.

At least until they arrived in the Ice Sector. A couple Bloks and yet more foolish Kankrelats awaited them. William pushed Aelita in the direction of the activated tower and let her lead this time, so she was less likely to be hit, occasionally deflecting a laser with his gauntlet. He really didn't want to pull out his sword until absolutely necessary, especially since Aelita didn't really have a 'weapon' at this time, and it would be more noticeable if he, the Unknown, did.

Besides, it would be fun to surprise everyone, Xana included, when he did eventually show his true strength.

"William, there's more monsters!" Aelita exclaimed, slowing down and pointing ahead of them. Two Krabs were stalking towards them, their blade-like legs stabbing into the ice with each movement. William bit his lip, looking back and forth, trying to judge how difficult it would be to take them all out empty handed, by himself, while still protecting the mostly defenseless princess.

"Jeremy?" The pink elf said, looking around at the dark sky like she expected to see eyes staring down at her. "Help Jeremy! We're being chased by monsters!"

William couldn't hear anything. He wasn't connected to the communications, then. Well that made things awkward.

Aelita pulled on his arm. "Quickly, we have to hide!"

"I don't know about that, princess. There's too many." Gently, he pried her hand off. "You go and hide, and I'll go this way. Some of the monsters will follow me, and you'll have a better chance of getting to the tower."

"But Jeremy said—!"

"I don't know who that is. Just trust me, okay? I know what I'm doing." He gave her a confident smile, coaxing her to run while the monsters still worked to close the distance between them, shooting the occasional laser. Once she was moving, he turned and went the other way.

As he'd hoped, the Krabs followed him, while the Bloks continued on after Aelita. He wasn't too worried about her—if Jeremy was here, then the others wouldn't be far behind. They weren't very powerful yet, but they had proven to perform well under pressure.

Seeing as he was currently weaponless, William decided to follow his most recent modus operandi that worked best with destroying monsters quickly—shove them into the digital sea. A Krab was much bigger than a Kankrelot, so he couldn't just kick them over…but that was what smoke was for.

Grinning deviously to himself, he led the Krabs on a merry chase through the hills and cliffs of ice until he found a nice straight shot for the sea. Rather than slow down, he picked up his speed, the Krabs following suit to try and overtake him now that there weren't any pesky turns to slow them down—so they almost didn't stop in time when he dove right over the edge.

They came to a halt, leaning their main bodies over the side as if they actually had eyes to peer around for the seemingly suicidal virtual teenager. They didn't notice said teen reform from smoke behind them, gather big clumps of purple and black in his hands, and fire them at their backs like cannon balls.

"Morons." William dusted his hands emphatically, not even bothering to wait and watch the pillars of light signaling the Krab's contact and subsequent destruction on contact with the sea. Instead he turned towards where he knew the tower to be, and hopefully Aelita as well, and took off in that direction.

He hadn't quite reached it before he rounded a column of ice and was witness to the first face to face meeting between the Lyoko Warriors, a moment that would spark the beginning of a great friendship.

Seeing it for himself, as sudden and circumstantial as it was, made him really wonder if he had any place in this story, where he only knew how to be the bad guy.

_**AN:**_

_I'm not great at action. It's made harder because I can't just have William go KICKASS BUTCHER SWORD on everyone. Yet._

_MB_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN:** As you may have noticed, this story is pretty low on my priority list. Doesn't mean it's dead or anything. Just very slow to update. I have other shit to do, y'know. But I wouldn't ever abandon William. NEVER.  
_

_The Things that Are Not Mine are Someone Else's_

**Rewriting the Code**

**4 : Xana Awakens Part Four**

William had only ever seen the Warrior's original forms once for himself, and it wasn't a day he really cared to remember in great detail. Seeing them now was bringing back unpleasant memories, but also sparked a familiarity in him that was probably Xana's. And also made him feel kind of awkward, seeing as they were all two years younger, and it showed. Their supercomputer-rendered appearances had a baby freshness that he could eventually get used to, but the uncertainty that floated about them was almost stifling. They had little idea what they were doing here or why it was suddenly so easy to fight monsters when none of them had ever faced such opponents before. The way they fingered their weapons was instinctual, but timid. Inexperienced.

Still, the potential to one day grow into a formidable team of fighters was there. The raw talent and adaptability. It was a small miracle when he thought about it—how the people to find the supercomputer just happened to be the kind that would thrive within it's simulated environment. Not just anyone could step into the scanner, get some fancy virtual super powers and become a true Warrior. The supercomputer could certainly fake strength and stamina, but your actions were ultimately your own—skill could not be replicated.

The Not-Quite-Yet-Warriors did, even at this age, have something unique and admirable in the way of skills already. Yumi especially. He could definitely recognize her martial arts prowess, even when handling a unique and unfamiliar weapon like a spinning fan. It was some of that same self-confidence and capability that made her so attractive to him in the first place, and for a moment he was consciously resisting the impulse to stare at her. 'Cause damn—did that battle kimono look good on her.

_I wonder if she'll be freaked out by an AI flirting with her…_

Then he remembered their overall rocky, if not disastrous relationship in a time-yet-to-come, and sobered. Being trapped in virtual purgatory for days on end gave a guy a lot of time for thinking, and William had come to recognize that he had approached Yumi in completely the wrong way to ever truly earn her affection. It had been weird to consider at first, but after some serious consideration of what he knew of her relationship with Ulrich, he realized that she just wasn't into guys like him. Sure, he thought they had managed to become decent friends eventually, but even that was stretched and chipped apart by his possession. He still remembered the disappointment, the scorn, the guilt…

He took a deep breath. This was not the time to wallow in bad memories. He'd have plenty of chances for that later.

_I am stuck here, after all._

The flash of bitterness that went along with that thought almost surprised him. But only almost. He had been coping with it relatively well thus far, taking what amusement he could in the situation, reveling in being able to control his own body movements for the first time in forever… But he had been largely ignoring how much still being _virtual_ actually bothered him. So maybe he needed to set aside some time to vent, once he got this tower business cleared up…

Anyway. William was faced with a choice here—Jeremy probably already knew he was here, but there was no rule that he had to introduce himself to the Warriors right now. He could just leave, let them complete their self-imposed mission, and they'd never even see his face. Aelita would be safe enough with them around.

But that felt cowardly. On the one hand, he was scared to face them—he'd nearly killed each of them, _so many times_—but on the other hand, this was a chance. A chance to be a better friend. To not be such a damn screw up. A chance to make things _right_.

If he was in the past for any purpose, any at all, then wouldn't it be that?

He was starting with a clean slate. They didn't know him. He wasn't an annoying classmate, or a nosy bystander who gets in the way, and certainly not an enemy.

How could he possibly pass this up?

William took a second to calm himself—'_act natural!_'_ a strangely Odd-like voice encouraged in his head_—before approaching the group.

Aelita noticed him first, and immediately ran to meet him. Her expression said she was relieved to see him, a familiar face compared to the strange and foreign teenagers who had literally dropped down around her from nowhere.

"You're alright!" Her astonishment was almost flattering. He would need to impress upon her that he was far from being that easy to get rid of. "What happened to the monsters?"

"The Krabs?" William waved his hand dismissively, scoffing theatrically. "I told you not to worry. They're no match for my superior strategy."

"You said you knew what you were doing."

"And I was right. Not a scratch." He spread his arms, giving the little elf a mischievous smile. Looked past her at the three teens watching them curiously like he was just then noticing them. "Who're your new friends?"

Aelita looked at them as well, her wrinkled brow indicating she didn't have much idea. "They're Jeremy's friends, I think…"

"Aww, don't tell me you forgot my name already!" Odd whined in a melodramatic fashion, pretending to be wounded. His getup was less of the streamlined one he'd have in the future, but still very purple, and very catlike. Feline ears poked out of his purple-streaked blond hair, and a tiger-striped violet tail swung behind him lazily. William hadn't realized how truly enormous the teen's claws were in this iteration of his virtual form—to the point of being kind of cartoonish.

"She was probably too busy fearing for her life to listen to your flirting, Odd," Ulrich said, in his usual flat, mildly sarcastic tone of voice. William actually had to suppress a snicker at the broody, self-exiled type of countenance the boy was giving off. The Ulrich he was familiar with was certainly quiet and contemplative, but _wow_—he had really matured since he was fifteen. The floppy side bangs, the stand-offish body language—he would have looked right at home in some of Yumi's gothic styles instead of this yellow samurai thing he had going on.

"What the Terrible Two mean to say," Yumi began, before the boys could start bickering. "Is that their names are Odd Della-Robbia and Ulrich Stern. I'm Yumi Ishiyama," she introduced, concise and polite. William had always kind of admired that about her. She didn't take crap if she could do something about it, but she was actually a really socially aware person beneath the black turtlenecks and combat boots. If there was anywhere William knew he fell short in knowledge, it was formal etiquette. He distinctly remembered Yumi mentioning a somewhat strict upbringing, so he totally understood her need to distinguish herself through her style and yet still hold close the teachings she was raised by. He thought that, more than just her heritage, was what inspired the geisha-like style of her virtual avatar.

"Well, nice to meet you all, I suppose." He smiled crookedly, nodding a bit at them all as a whole. The nostalgia was almost heartbreaking—which was an odd thing when time-wise, it was really only a few months since he'd been on good terms with the future versions of these people. He suddenly felt very old. "You can call me William."

"Hey hey, wait. What about Jeremy?" Odd interjected, waving an enormous clawed finger. "He's here, but not _here_, right? Einstein, introduce yourself!" He paused and tilted his head to the side, like he was listening to something. The others demonstrated a similar kind of attention to apparently nothing. Then they all looked at William.

"Can you hear Jeremy, William?" Aelita asked, her eyebrows wrinkling in a confused manner. He gave her his best innocently perplexed look.

"Uh…should I?"

"I've always been able to…" She paused again, probably listening to Jeremy speaking in her ear. "…But maybe it's because he woke me up in my tower? He doesn't seem to know either."

"Well, does it really matter?" He shrugged. Paused, and pointed over her shoulder. "Oh, and the tower really ought to be deactivated. The monsters will just keep showing up until you do."

"Deactivate?" It was Odd who spoke, but the Not-Yet-Warriors all looked completely baffled by this statement. "Why would we do that?"

"I thought…the tower won't send me to the real world?" The princess drooped visibly, disappointed. William looked at them all weirdly. _That's_ what they thought the towers were meant for?

"No…that's not really how they work. At least, not from what I've seen." They would be used in that manner one day, though. He didn't know exactly how or when, but they would. "When they turn red like that, it's because Xana activated it for whatever reason."

"Like what?" Yumi asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. He just shrugged.

"Like I know? Things. Generally bad things. That's why they need to be deactivated. So his creepiness doesn't screw around with the real world when he shouldn't be."

"And who is Xana?"

He was probably telling them too much. He opened his mouth to say something evasive, when a laser flew between them. They all turned towards the origin, and there, lo and behold, were more monsters. How convenient.

"Well, those are his, to start." William took Aelita's hand and without preamble started to run, dragging her along. The others three took a second to gape, bewildered, before following.

"Well, this is just brilliant," Ulrich said from somewhere to William's left, before delving off into a string of growled swears when a laser nearly nicked his ear.

"William, how are we supposed to deactivate the tower?" The princess asked as they sprinted. Without needing to be asked (although if Jeremy had anything to do with it, William wouldn't know) the teens behind them fell back to hold off the collection of Krabs and Bloks.

"Don't worry, the hard part is just getting to the tower. You'll figure it out, easy."

She gaped. "M-me?! Why?"

"'Cause I'm not sure I can deactivate towers, while I'm _certain_ you can. Relax, you'll do fine."

Aelita sputtered, befuddled and utterly unable to retort seeing as she barely knew what he was talking about, never mind about what powers she truly holds. She didn't get a chance to protest, as once they reached the towers base, William winked at her before bodily shoving her into it.

_Sometimes they just need a little push…_

Or a big push. Aelita was a nervous little thing right now, if she took it at her own pace they'd be there all day. He wouldn't pretend to be a patient person.

A laser struck him in the arm, nearly knocking him over with the force. The area crawled with red electricity and a few pixels flew away, like bits of paint breaking off a wall. He grabbed it reflexively, hissing.

"_Ow_ _ow ow_…"

That hurt way more than he was expecting. Luckily it was just a Blok, and it didn't hit him anywhere vital, or it might have much worse. He wasn't entirely sure how fragile his virtual form was—earlier in their careers as Warriors, the others had mentioned some monsters being able to devirtualize them in one hit, but they seemed to gain resistance to Xana's weapons the longer they fought, which eventually required Xana to upgrade his monsters.

William dodged the next strike, glaring at the offending monster.

"That wasn't very nice," he told it. It's response was a freezing beam that he dove away from, doing a somersault before smoothly returning to his feet. The cube that was it's main body spun, locating him with a different face than previously. It geared up to fire again and William prepared to move—before a spinning pink fan tore descended from the dark sky and tore across the Blok's Eye, sending it spinning like a top. A heartbeat later it exploded into crimson pixels. William followed the fan with his eyes as it made a loop in the air before returning to it's user, who he found to be behind him.

"Nice shot," he complimented, as Yumi caught the fan and folded it.

"Thanks." She didn't quite smile at him—she didn't know him well enough for that—but nodded. "Are you okay? I saw you take a hit."

"I can walk it off." He glanced around. "What happened to…?"

"Devirtualized. It's just us, now." The geisha Warrior looked at the tower. "So…what happens when it deactivates?"

"To Aelita and me? Nothing. Lyoko doesn't change, I don't think. Nothing outside either, unless you run that time travel program."

Yumi's eyes widened, staring at him. "Time travel?"

"Yup. Don't ask me how it works, I haven't the foggiest idea." Even with his new virtual intelligence—he'd actually looked up the Return to the Past program earlier, and hadn't understood a word of it. "Don't go getting any grand ideas of going back to the feudal era or anything—it only goes back two days, max."

"Handy." She sounded impressed.

"Under the correct circumstances, yeah." William sensed a shift, and faced the tower in time to see it flash and then pull itself back together, entering it's neutral state. A moment later, Aelita emerged, looking relieved. He smiled at her and patted her on the back. "See, princess? Knew you could do it."

"I…yeah." She smiled, hesitantly. "It…was easy. It felt natural. The tower even knew my name."

_Wonder if it would know mine._ If the system didn't recognize him, well…he would lament over the implications of that at a later date.

Both of the girls tilted their heads up, and he guessed Jeremy was speaking again.

"Okay, Jeremy." Yumi looked back at the two "AIs" and did an awkward little wave. "I need to go deal with real life now. See ya." And devirtualized.

Aelita turned to him. "Um…now what?"

_Good question._ He was going to have to get his hands on a digital poker game, or this was going to get very boring, very quickly.

_**AN:**_

_I tried really hard to keep everyone in character while also making them out to be more realistic and less cheesy than they were often presented in the show. Obviously we only see the Warriors a little here, but the differences in the way I write them will become more apparent in the future. I'd like to think that no one will mind so long as it all makes sense. _

_MB_


End file.
